No, Daniel Jones is not the problem with the New York Giants
Just a year removed from the 2022 NFC Divisional round, few teams have had a more abysmal start to the 2023 NFL season than the New York Giants (1-4).
Aside from a dominant second-half effort against a lowly Arizona Cardinals squad in Week 2 where they had to erase a 21-point deficit, the Giants have managed to put up just 31 points in four outings, including one effort in which they were shutout and another limited to a field goal. Through five weeks, no team has a worse point differential than the Giants (-91), but two teams have arguably been less competitive than the Giants and those are the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
Unlike those two teams though, the problem in New York is not the quarterback. Yes, Daniel Jones's start to the season has been a disaster. Yes, outside of that Arizona game he has thrown for only 200+ yards once this season. Yes, his 39.6 QBR is the fifth worst in the NFL. Yes, his 71.7 RTG is the worst of starting quarterbacks. Yes, he leads the league in interceptions thrown (6) and has thrown just two touchdown passes. Yes, yes, and yes.
Is this really any of his fault, though?
No, it's inevitable and here's a big reason why.
In his last two games, Daniel Jones has been sacked 18 times, the most endured by a quarterback in a two-game span since the 1986 Eagles, per Giants beat reporter Jordan Raanan.
Jones, who has already been sacked 28 times and Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, sacked 29 times, are both on pace to be sacked the most in an NFL season, eclipsing David Carr's 76 with the Houston Texans in 2002.
Through five weeks, Jones's 15.31% sack percentage is the highest in the NFL, two more percentage points above the next. To give some perspective, Jones hadn't been sacked 28 times last year until the 10th game of the season. The Giants have only played five games.
Evan Neal, an offensive tackle taken out of Alabama with the 7th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has proven to be more of a liability than an asset for the Giants, seemingly letting someone new get to his quarterback every week.
Then, there was the week before against the Seattle Seahawks, where you could see avoiding the pass rush once again.
Neal is not the only issue with an offensive line that has limited Jones's ability to be a playmaker.
If the Giants want Jones to play the way he did last year, they need to focus on restructuring the offensive line and bolstering the wide receiver corps. Yes, he has been on the wrong side of offensive categories this season, but he really hasn't been given much chance this season. Until that happens, this situation may continue to perpetuate, and things can get even uglier.
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